White Board R’ Us. Part II.

This blog is a continuation of a previous posting “White Board R’ Us”. I wrote earlier regarding utilization of white boards in patient’s room.  It is a very simple and one of the most effective tools to improve communication. This is based on a study conducted by Dr Sehgal at University of California.

It has been over a month since I have been using this medium to convey the plan of care to the patient. I just use simple layman language. It starts with my name, date, their diagnosis and plan for a particular day.

So like for the patient above, I jotted down on the board that he will be getting steroids for a rash, antibiotics for a skin infection and an ultrasound to check for a clot in his arm.

Patients seem to be more informed about their diagnosis and plan. They are more appreciative and they know what is coming to them later in the day.  I usually do not use the white board if the patient is confused or being discharged home.

I will keep you posted as this is work in progress.